Alternatives
by Crystal Seeker 466
Summary: What would happen if instead the Mane Six were the elements of harmony, the Dragonborn, the Courier/Lone Wanderer, Vilkas, Fargengar, Ulysses, and Joshua Gram (I just figured out it's Graham, and will fix it in the next update). And they brought along Alduin (who is friendly), Fawkes, and Raul. This is the story of these nine, and their adventures as the new Elements of Harmony.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I

My name is Ethan, Ethan Mason. Others call me the Lone Wanderer, or Courier, hell, even Messiah. My life in the Wasteland was harsh, brutal, someplace I tried to fix long ago. I never could, but I kept trying. I wanted to bring the earth back to life, make life there great and wonderful... but sometimes dreams can only be dreams.

I was traveling with my friends back to the Capitol Wasteland, they were Ulysses, Joshua Gram, and Raul. My best friends. They watched my back for a good few years, and we never parted ways. Heck, I think Fawkes was with us too, hard to remember when you've been in a black void for so long.

I think I'm coming two now, because I'm starting to hear Fawkes' voice. Nice change of pace so far.

...

My eyes slowly opened and I found myself face to face with a large, green... pony? Did I say that right? Whatever it was, it had large green eyes, a bald head, and a large horn coming out of it's forehead. And boy was it massive.

The thing pulled me up, and spoke with a hearty laugh. "HAHA! Good to see you awaken, my friend!"

Yep, that was Fawkes, hell if I know what happened, but that sure was him.

Fawkes sat me down on the ground, which made me fall onto my ass, and rose an eyebrow. I then looked down at my body, and I couldn't help but grunt at my luck. Sure, I was the luckiest sonofabitch alive, but sometimes it did the craziest things to me.

I was just like Fawkes, only smaller, though I had a horn too, and wings. My coat was a nice, fitting brown, and I had a black, messy mane. I had a tail, to my disappointment, and I had some kind of tattoo on my ass. One that, strangely, changed from all the different factions I was a member of, and/or helped. Thankfully I still had my PipBoy though.

I looked up at Fawkes, and spoke the first words I could think of. "What the hell happened to us? Scratch that, what the hell are we?"

Fawkes gave a large grin, which I could finally tell thanks to his form. "We're one of Earth's oldest species, a pony." I gave an annoyed look at the name. "The name may make you upset, but at least others would call themselves the same. I am what mythology calls a Alicorn." I folded my... forelegs. "As for you, you are the same thing."

I gave a small groan in response, and began to, somehow, rub my temples.

Just then I heard Ulysses. "History appears to be continuing on, I see, bringing back the old world."

I tilted to the side to see Ulysses, and even saw Joshua Gram, and they looked just like us, but different.

Ulysses was a brown pony, no horn or wings, and wore his usual duster with the old world flag on it's back. He had his Old Glory staff, and still wore that mask, while having dreadlocks. Best way to remember him was the mask though.

Joshua, he was a alicorn too, with a long horn, and wore bandages around his entire body, also wearing the nice looking pants, and vest, with a shirt under it. Still looked badass, though he seemed to have bandages over his wings, my guess was he still held that burnt skin.

I waved at them. "Hey, guys. Looks like you're both awake!"

Joshua gave a painful nod. "It seems god still believes I am needed, and I will not disappoint him."

I nodded in response, then looked at Raul, who looked just like himself, though ponified. His skin was still partly gone, he had his usual mustache, and wore that green jumpsuit while having a horn. He looked cool too.

I then heard a groan behind me, making me look back, and raised an eyebrow. Three ponies I have no idea about.

One was covered in black and red armor, with a long sword on his back, go figure, they get weapons too. He had horns, and a black visor, and also had both wings and a horn.

His two friends were kinda like him too. One was big and rugged, while the other wore blue robes. Hell, they had a dragon with them as well, and he looked Badass!

I got to my hooves, awkwardly, and stumbled a little as I took a few steps towards the four. I then spoke. "Yo! Sleeping armored people, wake up!"

The one in black armor groggily groaned and sat up, then glanced at me, before giving a tilt of his head. He then spoke. "What in the name of Talos are you?"

I gave a snicker. "Same thing you are, dumbass."

The armored pony went wide eyed, and looked down at his body, seeing the same features as my body, which made him start panicking. So much that he accidentially rammed into a tree, then was out like a light.

I chuckled a little at this, then glanced at the other three, who have woken up, heard what I said, saw their boss run around, and decided not to panic badly like him.

I trotted over to them, and offered my hoof to the closest one. "Nice to meet you three, I'm Ethan." I helped the pony in robes up. "Sup."

He tilted his head at my words, then hummed slightly. "Such a strange form of language, I never knew one could sound so... different."

I gave a snort. "It's called modern, buddy."

The robed pony nods slowly. "Interesting."

I then glanced at the buff one. "Who might you be, big guy?"

The pony stood to his full height, which was not as big as Fawkes, but still intimidating to the normal man. "My name is Vilkas, and I am a member of the Companions."

I gave a small nod. "Alrighty then, and who's your big friend there?"

They looked back at the dragon, making the robed pony look at me. "That is Alduin, former World Eater. After the Dragonborn over there talked him down, they joined forces to bring the world back to the light."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, preacher, I get it."

The pony was confused now. "I am not a preacher, but a Master of the Way of the Voice. My name is Fargengar."

I slowly nodded. "Oookay, whatever you say, crazy."

Fargengard was about to speak in anger, until Alduin spoke. "Fargengar, he is not from our own world, so he does not know what we talk of."

I clapped my hooves at this. "Great! Talking dragons too! What else could this world throw at me?"

Fawkes responded to that. "Possibly the inhabitants of this planet are ponies, which would explain our sudden change of looks."

I clapped again. "Bravo! Now if you all don't mind, I'm going to go unconscious because of how crazy this all is." I looked at Fawkes. "Wake me up when we reach some kind of settlement."

Fawkes nodded in response, and I was out like a light, seeing nothing but darkness.

So yeah, that was how I took it in.

...

I groaned as I slowly blinked my eyes open, and saw an upside down pony in black armor. This made me speak. "I'm still in pony land, ain't I?"

Fawkes chuckled. "I'm afraid so, my friend."

I sighed heavily in response, and rolled onto my stomach, taking in the sight of the forest. It was boring to say the least, dark, damp, and overall ugly. Sure, the Wasteland could strangle this, shit on it, piss on it, throw it in a ditch, and shoot it for good measures... but this place was like a god awful cartoon holotape. I've seen scarier places, believe me.

Just then I heard Joshua speak. "God's light is everywhere, no death, no chaos, no hatered. I am starting to feel like we've gone to heaven."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Heaven, great, where you get turned into a fucking pony, and have to deal with shit like people from different times. Some heaven."

They all shared a laugh while I continued with my misury, trying very hard to figure this all out. God how I hated cartoons back then, no action or epic moments in them, just love and peace. Loads of brahmin shit.

Just then I heard Fawkes give out a hearty laugh. "We found something, my friend!"

I sat up and looked over Fawkes' shoulder, seeing the ruins across a old, rickety bridge. Not much of a surprise really.

I hopped off of Fawkes' back, and began walking across the bridge, with the others close behind. I personally went back to my annoyed thoughts, and failed to notice the first step into this tower.

I yelped in surprise as I face-planted into the stone floor. And letted out a groan as I pulled off of it. "Fuck... gotta remember to not daydream when exploring."

Fawkes chuckled as he patted my back, and we all walked into the ruins. It was empty for sure, but all there really was were those five stones on the ground. This made me walk over to them, and raised an eyebrow. "That's all this place has? Five stone balls?"

Fawkes stopped next to me and examined them. "Hmm, strange. They hold markings on them, and appear to be important in some way." He glanced up at his horn. "I wonder." He placed his horn on the stone, and it vibrated a bit, before going still. This made him laugh. "AHA!" He looked at me. "My friend, place your horn on one of these stones."

I shrugged in response, and did just that. In response, a massive shock of energy shot through my body, making me yelp in shock, and fell to the ground with a smoking horn. I began to mutter to myself about this being the dumbest idea ever, then looked at Fawkes, who motioned to the others.

I gave a mock salute. "Just remember Fawkes, you owe me one." Fawkes nodded in response, and I repeated the process, getting four more shocking bolts in my body.

I pulled away and began mumbling to myself as my two friends, Ulysses and Joshua, placed their foreheads on two stones they liked, which made them shatter, turn into necklaces, and wrapped around their necks.

I grunted in response. "Oh sure, they act fine for you, but I get a shock of pain! That's fucking brahminshit!"

Joshua's necklace was a orange bible, while Ulysses's was a red bull.

I then looked at the three others. "Go ahead, I'm sure they'll work for you three too, why wouldn't it?!"

They did just that, and the same thing happened to them. The black armored one had a yellow pair of dragon wings, the big guy had a purple hammer, and the robed guy had a pink cross.

I groaned in response, and folded my forelegs in defeat, until we heard a loud bang come from the upper tower, which made me jump to my hooves, and nodded to my friends. "Come on, guys, somethings going on up there."

They nodded in response and we all rushed up the stairs.

Once we reached the upper level, we saw six ponies in front of another pony, who was much taller and held wings and a horn. She was laughing at the six (females I guess) as she spoke. "See, none of you have the elements of harmony, no matter what the trials were that you went through. Night will last, forever!"

I gave a snort in response, making all of them look at us, and go wide eyed. I gave an annoyed wave, and began trotting forward while speaking. "Sup, big, black, and ugly?" The all gasped. "What was that you said about night? I couldn't hear you over your massive ego."

The tall mare glared at me. "You dare insult Us?"

I tilted my head in mock confusion. "Who's 'Us' bitch? Because to me all that's standing there is a overgrown donkey."

The female was blood red with anger now, while the females behind me were very shocked by how I was treating this thing. The female then shot out a blast of lightning from her horn, making me roll out of the way, draw my pistol, and fired it off, and since I was keeping from killing her, I only made it scratch her cheek.

The girls behind me gasped in horror, while the mare placed her hoof on her cheek, feeling the blood leak from it, and narrowed her eyes at me. I gave a mock smile and spoke. "Does horsy want to go for a ride?"

She roared with a high pitched vocal, which would have hurted other's ears, but thanks to my mutations and synthetic enhancements, it sounded just annoying.

I then yelled out. "OH SHUT UP ALREADY!"

She glared daggers at me while I patted my hoof against my head, making water come out my other ear. I then looked at her. "Is that your best attack? Trying to defen us?"

The mare huffed in response, and charged at me. This made me smile as I jumped up at the last second, grabbed her by the head, and spun a little before throwing her back at the place she came from. Then landed on my ass, which hurt like a bitch.

I began to grumble to myself while I rubbed my ass, then glanced over at the lavender mare who was holding a stone ball. "I'll take that." I took it from her, making her protest quite a bit as I placed my horn against it, and it transformed into a very badass crown, with a large green crystal, which would change form occasionally like my tattoo.

This made the mare speak in shock. "What? Y-Your the Element of Magic?"

I looked at her with a dumbfounded look. "The fuck you talking about, woman?"

Her jaw dropped to the ground at my response, and I got to my feet, and smirked when I felt power rushing through my... crown, strangely enough. I then glanced at my friends, who felt it too, and I spoke. "All in favor at figuring out what these things do, say 'I'."

Joshua stepped forward. "I."

Ulysses next. "I."

The black armored guy gave a nod.

Robe Boy shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Finally the big guy. "I."

I nodded, and let the crown take over, which made a massive light engulf me, as well as my friends, and the things shot a, and I shit you not, a rainbow straight at the bitch. Then everything went black.

...

Once the lights dimmed a bit, Fawkes, Raul, and Alduin stopped blocking their eyes, and walked over to their friends. Well, Fawkes went over to Ethan, while the dragon and Raul got the other five.

Fawkes lifted me with his forelegs, and put me on his back, then glanced over at the still wide eyed and slack-jawed mares. He gave a bow of his head in response. "Hello, young ones. Do any of you know where the nearest settlement is?"

The mares looked between each other, until the one with a rainbow mane cried out as her forelegs flailed in the air. "That was so awesome!"

Fawkes gave out a hearty chuckle. "Indeed! My friend here has been known to go against impossible odds and come back the victor. He's been called a Messiah in fact!"

The girls went from shock to complete awe in mere moments.

Just then, a strange Alicorn floated into the room, and was surprised to see the extra ponies. She landed next to Twilight and smiled at her. "I knew you could do it, my faithful student." She then raised an eyebrow. "Where are the elements?"

Twilight gave her a confused expression, then pointed at the six unconscious stallions, which made the alicorn go wide eyed, and stared at them. Each one of them was an alicorn, except for the one with a strange mask. And the dragon looked to be able to cause problems with ease.

The alicorn stepped towards Fawkes and gave a small smile. "Then it is you nine I have to thank. On behalf of Equestria, I thank you."

Fawkes gave a large smile. "It was a grand battle! And I am sure Ethan here would be greatful for such words."

The alicorn tilted her head. "Ethan?"

Fawkes pointed his hoof at the unconscious stallion that wore an amazing looking crown. This made Celestia wide eyed. "I see." She then looked over all of them, until she laid eyes on Raul, and gasped in horror.

Raul waved it off while the other mares gasped as well. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

The alicorn slowly looked at Fawkes. "Who... and what, is that?"

Raul stepped forward, making the alicorn step back in disgust, while he gave a proper bow. "A pleasure to meet you, miss. My name is Raul Alfonso Tejada, and I am, by all rights, a Ghoul." He stood upright, in a proper fashion.

The alicorn was shocked that even by their reactions, he treated them nicely. If he was a griffon, he would have insulted them, but strangely, this... undead, was polite and proper.

Raul then noticed the look in her eye. "I take it you want the entire description on ghouls, si?"

The alicorn nodded.

"Ah, alright. Ghouls or necrotic post-ponies, are decreptic, rotting, zombie-like mutants. We are recipients of intensive, elongated radiation sickness which decays our skin, as well as our ligaments. Paradoxically, we also have greatly extended overall lifespans and are, allegedly, immune to, and even brought back to health by the hazards of background radiation and/or nuclear fallout."

The alicorn was very wide eyed now, as she gulped. "Are you... contagious?"

Raul shook his head, an amused smirk on his face. "Nah, nothing like that. It stays in our bodies, doesn't leave at all either. We can be in heavy doses of radiation, and can get healed by it, though if we are treated bad enough, as well as our mentallity going bed, we go farel. But again, that's from bad treatment, because they think they truly are zombies. It's quite sad really."

The alicorn gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry."

Raul gave a smile again. "It's fine, I got used to it long ago, around 200 years ago."

The alicorn smiled weakly. "I'm glad, I would hate for one of my subjects to suffer by such ways."

Raul chuckled lightly. "It's fine, I'm just an old pony who needs to settle down."

The alicorn giggled in response. "I feel the same ways sometimes." She then gave her own bow. "A pleasure to meet you Raul, my name is Princess Celestia."

Raul gave another bow. "A honor, Princess."

Celestia stood with a smile, then looked at the biggest pony she's ever seen, far bigger then her. "And what might your name be?"

The massive green and bald pony in tattered blue clothes, gave a large smile. "I am Fawkes, one of the smarter, and more friendlier Super Mutants."

Celestia went wide eyed. "Your a mutant as well?"

Fawkes nodded, and stretched a bit before he began reciting.

"Super Mutants are mutated ponies, products of infection by the Forced Evolutionary Virus, or FEV for short. They are much taller, bulkier and muscular than pure strain ponies, have (mostly) green, grey, or yellowish skin, are immune to disease AND radiation, and are gifted with superpony strength and endurance. Although they are completely sterile, the rapid regeneration of their cells caused by FEV makes them virtually biologically immortal (but not immune to death from injury)."

"There are two different known sources of super mutants back home - Mariposa Military Base in the Core Region (on the West Coast) and a place called Vault 87 in a place known as the Capital Wasteland (on the East Coast). The two populations have seperate histories and origins, and are yet to interact with each other. While originally the term was only used to refer to the... Mariposa stock, the Brotherhood of Steel carried the term with them and applied it to those from Vault 87 upon encountering them."

"Sadly, most who come out of the batch were dumb as rocks, but very few of us came out with our minds still intact. The ones back home chose to go to war with the ponies there, but thankfully, some of us learned to be kind and peaceful in that war filled land."

Celestia was wide eyed, and astonished that such a thing was possible. She wanted to ask more, learn everything she could about these two new species of ponies, but she had more important things to get ahold of.

She looked back at Twilight. "My faithful student, do you know of a place these six can rest while I attend the party that will most likely come when I return?"

Twilight nods at this. "Of course, Princess, they can stay at the library."

Celestia smiled. "Wonderful, thank you, Twilight."

Twilight nods in response, before Celestia turned to the much younger, and less threatening mare.

...

My eyes slowly blinked open, and I let out a small groan as I placed my hoof on my forehead, and then looked at it. "Yep, still in ponyland... go figure."

I sigh heavily, and rolled onto my stomach, letting out a puff of air as I examined my surroundings. I was in some kind of old fashioned library, which I hardly found surprising, giving everything that's happened, and everything else I went through. So I simply sighed heavily, then looked over the small ledge, seeing that lavender mare from earlier. She was fast asleep, and I can't help but say that she looked kinda cute.

I examined her body, noticing much of it was like mine, except she had no wings. She also appeared to have a tattoo on her ass as well. Now, I know I sound like a pervert for even looking there, but... I'M LOOKING AT THE FUCKING TATTOO, NOT HER ASS! GOT IT?!

I was very confused that it was of five stars, which made me lean forward to get a better look at it. But instead of staying on the bed, I fell off and landed on the mare. This made her cry out in surprise and flail about while I simply gave an annoyed grunt.

I rolled off of her, while she quickly got to her hooves, dusted herself off, and looked at me. "What was that for?!"

I bluntly answered. "I was trying to get a closer look at that damn tattoo on your ass."

The mare blushed madly at that, and began to stutter while I began dusting myself off. I then gave her an annoyed look. "What the hell is it anyways?"

This made her stop, and give me a raised eyebrow. "You don't know what a Cutie Mark is?"

"A Cutie what?"

"A Cutie Mark?"

I flailed my forelegs into the air. "SERIOUSLY?! YOU FREAKS COULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT UP SOMETHING COOLER OR MANLIER THEN A CUTIE MARK?! WHATEVER HAPPENED TO DIGNITY?!"

I collapsed on my back, and slapped my hooves over my eyes, grumbling to myself while the mare spoke. "Are you alright?"

I grunted in response. "Fuck no." She winced. "One minute I'm walking through a war filled wasteland, heading back home, when all of the sudden I am surrounded by a black void, wake up in some forest, with my friends and some random ass ponies I just met, and the next thing I know, I get shocked by five stones that apparently prefer my friends more, then all of the sudden, this damn crown thing comes to me, ME! And I go out like a fucking light, then wake up in some old fashioned library, and now I'm being told, I have a Cutie Mark on my ass, taking away the rest of my fucking dignity!" I groaned. "Oh my fucking god, God must be laughing his ass off at me."

The mare walked over to me, and gently patted my shoulder while speaking. "Come on, it can't be all bad." My response was another annoyed grunt. "Hey, how about this. You come with me out to the party outside, and I'll see what kinds of sweets there are that could possibly make you happy."

I stayed silent for a long time, then removed my hooves. "Do you know how gay that sounds?"

She gave me puppy eyes. "Come on, just give it a try."

I gave a grunt once again. "I've seen Rex do a better puppy eyes then you." She sighed heavily. "Gah! Fine! Just make sure there's alcohol involved."

She snickered in response. "Sure thing."

I rolled my eyes at her, got to my hooves, and followed her out of the room into the library, where I saw my two friends, and the three others, talking to each other. They all see me, and Ulysses spoke. "It seams death has yet to catch you, Courier."

I grunted in response, while Joshua spoke. "God must be smiling upon you, friend, for you might not have awakened afterwards."

I gave a snort. "Yeah, God just loves to see me suffer in this child like world."

The five chuckled lightly, while the mare was amazed by something. The six of us followed the mare out into the settlement we were in, and we saw thousands of ponies all around. This made me grow worried even more, since I never was one for crowds.

We passed through the many ponies, all the while I kept my head low, and we just kept walking until we reached what I'm guessing to be the buffet table. I trotted over to the table, and examined all the pasteries, before grunting and looked at the mare. "Got something a bit less... sweet."

The mare nodded and grabbed what looked like an old world sandwich, with a few flowers in it.

Screw it, since I'm one of them, they gotta taste good now.

I took a bite of the sandwich, and was impressed by the flavor, bitter and good. I smiled slightly as I calmly ate through the sandwich, while I spotted Raul come over to me. "Hey Boss, how ya doin'?"

I smirked at him. "I'm doing good, Raul. How are the ponies treating you?"

He smiled a bit. "Thanks to some pony called Celestia, they decided to look the other way and greet me like any other pony."

I nodded in response, then raised an eyebrow. "Have you noticed that we're saying pony and pony related things instead of someone or somebody?"

Raul nodded. "Sure did, Boss. I decided to just roll with it until we find a way home."

I gave a smirk in response. "Sure thing, Zombie."

Raul placed a hoof over his chest in a mocked hurt look. "Oh, you hurt me Boss."

I let out a small laugh, as did he, and we did a hoofpound. And then I noticed the mare was listening in and examining how we acted in front of each other, and was shocked by something. This made me look at her. "What's up, Purple?"

The mare went wide eyed, blushed heavily, and cleared her throat. "Uh... my name is Twilight, Twilight Sparkle. And I was just... uh..." She began looking around, until she spotted a bowl of punch next to us. "Getting some punch, hehe."

I tilted my head in response, then shrugged it off as I walked away with Raul.

...

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Twilight continued to berate herself as she stared into her cup of punch. She just met some strange stallion, who had the most colorful vocabulary she's ever seen, and she can't tell if she has a crush on him or not. She just met him for crying out loud! But then there was the strange way he and his friends joke with each other. Like insults, but they didn't feel hurt, instead they knew it was a joke. Nopony would have been able to do that in Equestria. At least, not from what she knew.

It was so strange, she gained new feelings for a total stranger, and can't figure something out. What was going on here?

...

I continued to whistle as I walked by Raul through the crowds, still keeping to myself as we came up to who I was guessing to be Princess Celestia. She was tall, sure, but even a Deathclaw would be taller.

This 'Celestia' smiled at me as she looked at us. "Ah, I see the bearer of the Element of Magic is awake?"

I raised an eyebrow, put my hoof in my ear, and dug out a bit of earwax. "Sorry, but did you just say magic?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes, magic."

I went completely still, my face twitching every now and again, which made Raul look at me and sigh. "Here we go."

I let out a loud yelp and fell to the ground, out like a light again.

...

Celestia stared at the unconscious stallion that laid on the ground, as did everypony else in the town. This made Celestia worried as she looked at Raul. "Is he alright?"

Raul nods. "Yeah, he's just not used to so much peace, harmony, love and the such. He's more used to being shot on sight, buried in graves, being sliced at, getting gnawed on, and the such. From where we're from, there's no such thing as magic, and it was considered a fairy tale and false... so..."

Celestia was wide eyed and shocked, before slowly nodding. "I see, too much to take in all at once." Raul nodded. "Hmm... perhaps he should stay inside for a while, until he gets used to where he is."

Raul once again nodded. "Yeah, that'll probably be best."

Celestia nodded, and looked at Twilight. "You will watch over the newest ponies, Twilight, meaning they will all stay with you."

Twilight went wide eyed as the blush covered her face again. "O-O-Of course, Princess!"

Celestia smiled and nodded in response. Then gave a nod to everypony. "I believe it is time for me and Luna to take our leave, but first." She looked at her sister. "Shall you do the honors?"

Luna smiled widely, and used all the power in her horn, while flying a bit into the air, and turned the entire sky into a beautiful roof of stars and the moon.

Raul placed a hoof on his forehead. "Well I'll be."

Celestia and Luna then said their goodbyes, before heading home.

...

My eyes slowly open, albite grogily, and I couldn't help but groan as I felt myself in a bed, again. This made me grumble to myself. "Alright, take it nice and easy, nice and fucking easy." He slowly rolled onto his stomach, and looked around. "Still in ponyland, check. Same library, check. Still a pony myself..." I groaned as I saw the horn. "Fuck it, check." I then looked around. "Where the fuck is the bathroom?"

I climbed out of bed, and shook myself a bit, then began to walk through the room, before I was in a hallway. This made me raise an eyebrow, and slowly open the first door. Purple whats-her-face's room. I gently closed the door and checked the next one. Really girly bathroom. At least they have a working shower.

I walked into the bathroom, and looked into the mirror, examining myself.

Messy black hair, check. Rough beard, check. Scar along the left eye, check. Deep gold eyes, check. Clothes... uncheck. Maybe they're still in my PipBoy.

I check my PipBoy.

Yep, they're there... but ponified. Fuck.

I sighed heavily, looked at the shower, then sniffed myself, making me yank my head back and gagged a bit. Oh yeah, I definitly need this.

I climbed into the shower, shook my body a bit, and placed my hoof on the dial. Then when I turned it. Huh, somehow pony hooves work like hands, but without the apposable thumbs. At least they still work properly.

...

Twilight groans as she slowly blinked her eyes open, hearing her alarm clock going off, which made her turn it off and sat up, yawning a bit and stretching too. She looked around, and saw Spike was still asleep, which made her smile gently, and climbed out of bed.

She headed into the hallway, and opened the door to the bathroom. Once she was in, she rubbed her eyes when she saw steam, and raised an eyebrow, until she heard a familiar voice speak. "Yo, Purple, ya mind?"

Twilight yelped in surprise and looked around, until she spotted the shower, and saw Ethan's head poking out of the curtains. This made Twilight's eyes go wide as saucers, while a massive blush covered her face. "O-O-Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, normally I wouldn't mind a mare walking in on me like this, but when they stay, then it gets a bit awkward."

Twilight blushed even harder, and quickly left the room, before closing the door behind her, and slapped herself with her hoof. What is wrong with you! You couldn't just say sorry and leave?! You had to make it more awkward?!

She groaned heavily, and went down the stairs to the kitchen. Once she was there, she was shocked to see Raul cooking.

Raul looked over at her, grew a smile, and waved at her. "Hello, senorita. I figured everypony'll be awake soon so I went ahead and started breakfast. Hope you don't mind."

Twilight shook her head, a small smile herself. "Not at all, Raul, thank you."

Raul nodded and flipped the pancake. "I may be an old colt, but that don't mean I can't learn new tricks."

Twilight giggled in response, grabbed a book from a shelf, and sat down to begin reading. As she read, she heard somepony coming down the stairs, looked up, and saw the strange pony in Dreadlocks coming down.

Twilight gave a small smile. "Hello."

He simply glanced at her, then continued walking. He then sat down at the table, and examined the place. "Even in places like this, the old world lives on."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

He looked at her. "Old World, this place holds democracy, greed, politics, and seperated nations."

Twilight tilted her head. "What's wrong with that?"

"The Old World was the same, and it led to the depletion of resources, power, and made many nations fight one another for the last of them. Until the Great War started, and all the nations burned under the invisible fires of radiation."

Twilight was once again wide eyed and shocked, before looking down and felt much worry. She doesn't want this to happen, no. She loves Equestria, and doesn't want it to go through that.

Just then the other strange pony in bandages came down stairs, sat down at the table, and gave a polite nod. "Good Morning to you."

Twilight smiled. "Good morning." She then tilted her head. "I'm sorry, but I still don't know your names."

The bandaged pony nods at that. "I am Joshua Gram, the right hand of the Lord."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion, making Raul answer as he sat a plate of pancakes in front of her. "He's religious, and believes in some higher power called God."

Twilight slowly nodded in response, then looked at Joshua. "Why do you wear those bandages?"

Joshua sighed. "I have lived a long life, and have been bapthtized twice. Once in water, once in flame." Twilight gasped. "I worked under a cruel pony named Caesar, who turned tribes into either slaves, or warriors. I was the best of the warriors, known as a Legate. But when I failed to capture what Caesar wanted, he covered me in pitch, lit me on fire, and threw me into a Grand Canyon." Twilight was in horror now. "I survived, somehow, and bandaged my wounds, where I swore to never do such a thing again, and to worship the Lord for the rest of my life." Joshua sighed. "Sometimes I still feel the fire, when I pull the bandages off to replace them. It reminds me of my life, and keeps me going to make the Lord proud again."

Twilight sniffled a little. "I... I'm so sorry, Joshua."

Joshua slowly nodded. "I learned to live with this, Miss Sparkle, and fight for all the good ponies to make sure their lives are as they currently are, full of peace and harmony."

Twilight grew a small smile. "I am glad you feel that way."

Just then Ethan entered the kitchen, and waved at them. "Mornin'."

Twilight smiled widely, while trying to forget earlier. "Good morning, Ethan. How are you?"

He shrugged as he opened the fridge and looked through it. "Aside from the intrusion in the bathroom, I'm fine. Just a bit hungry."

Twilight slumped her head in response. "I'm sorry."

Ethan waved it off as he plopped into one of the table chairs, and bit into an apple. "Don't worry about it, I had to deal with the same problem back home. Except instead of attractive ponies, I had stallions, and one of them was gay, so that was really awkward for me."

Twilight blushed even harder, and couldn't get that image out of her head, but finally did as she looked at him. "So... what do you plan on doing today?"

Ethan took another bite of the apple, and leaned against the table, waving the apple around with his hoof. "I've been thinking on that actually. I need some new clothes, some new weapons, a lot of resources to build homemade stuff, a lot of food, tons of medical equipment, and to top it all off, enough money to last at the least, six years."

Twilight's jaw was hanging now as she stared at him like he was insane. "Do you plan to get all of that in ONE day?"

He smirked at her, and pulled out a gold ingot, which made Twilight even more wide eyed. "I got enough of these puppies to last me until I pass on for the hundredth time. I think I can get a bit of stuff."

Twilight sighed heavily. "What about a place to live?"

Ethan hummed a bit. "What's the biggest building here?"

Twilight thought for a moment. "Hmm... I'd have to say that old mansion I saw in between Sweet Apple Acres and Ponyville. It was big enough to rival Canterlot Palace. Why?" Her eyes then widened. "Oh no, you don't mean…" Ethan's smirk was now a full on grin. "But what if somepony already lives there?! What if Mayor Mare won't let you?! What if-"

Ethan raised his hoof to silence her. "Relax, Purple, it'll be taken care of." He then looked at Fawkes when the behemoth entered the kitchen. "Hey Fawkes." Green eyes met gold. "What say you and me head on down to Town Hall and buy ourselves a mansion?"

Fawkes' smirk was his response, making Ethan nod and look at the rest of them. "See you all later, I got some papers to sign and a deed to get ahold of."

With that, he got up, took another bite of his apple, and headed out the door with Fawkes right behind him.

Twilight letted out a long groan and placed her head in her hooves. "He's insane."

Raul chuckled lightly. "Yeah, well, having your brain removed, and being experimented on by aliens tends to do that to you."

"WHAT?!"

…

I couldn't help but be quite impressed at how well the town moved. Market Stands, ponies everywhere, stores and factories working hard, hell, there was even a building made of bread. How the hell did that even work?

I looked over at Fawkes, and gave him a nod, earning one in return, and I walked over to the closest stand. This one had a tan mare with a long mane and tale in a ponytail (pun intended I guess), and wore a stetson hat.

I gave a nod to her, making her look at me and go wide eyed. She then smiled widely. "Well howdy pardner, good t' see y'all again." I raised an eyebrow, making her blush slightly. "Pardon, Ah was there when y'all took care of Nightmare Moon."

"Nightmare Who now?"

The pony chuckled a little. "That varmit y'all took down in those ruins." I formed a 'o' with my lips. "So, y'all looking fer some apple products?"

"Do you have change for a gold ingot?"

The mare coughed harshly on her saliva, before banging her chest, and looked at me. "Beg Pardon, but did y'all say gold ingot?"

I nodded and pulled one out, which made her eyes go wide as saucers, went to the back of her head, and she fell to the ground, out cold. This made me quite confused, before shrugging and looked at Fawkes. "Think Town Hall is close?"

Fawkes nods in response. "Indeed friend, right down that way."

I nodded in response, and we began walking towards the way he pointed. As we did, I took note of a shadow following from the air. This made me glance upwards, and spotted a rainbow dash behind a cloud. Do I remember her from somewhere? ...how the hell do I even know it's a pony? I shrugged, seeing it as another strange thing happening to me, and headed on.

Fawkes soon led me to a massive building, which we entered, and headed to the receptionist's desk. Said receptionist looked up at us, and sighed. "Yes, what can I do for you?"

I stepped forward and placed a gold ingot on the counter. "I wanted to know if that mansion near Sweet Apple Acres was for sale?"

The receptionist was wide eyed at the gold ingot, before clearing her throat to calm down, and examined it a bit, then weighed it a bit, and looked at me. "About twenty of these would do, given that each would be a thousand gold bits."

I nodded in response, and placed nineteen more down, making her slack-jawed, before she cleared her throat, pulled out the deed, and some papers, then looked at me. "Just sign these papers, and the deed is yours."

I gave a small smile in response.

…

The Dragonborn groans as he slowly blinked his eyes open, and all he could hear was a lot of shouting coming from downstairs, lovely. Wonder what Fargengar or Vilkas has to say about that. But first things first. Get up and out of that bed.

The Dragonborn pushed himself into a sitting position, and wiped his forehead with his hoof. He glanced down and saw that he forgot to pull off his boots, which made him shrug, stand up, pulled off the boots, and made sure his clothes were fitted properly. Once he knew they were, he walked over to the door, placed his hoof on the knob, then thought of something. Before I woke up here, I would hear Mora''s voice in my head, given my complete acceptance to stop Miraak. So… why don't I hear him anymore?

The Dragonborn shrugged at his question and opened the door, which made the shouting much louder for him. He groaned in response, and left the room, heading downstairs. Once there, he could finally hear the purple mare's voice.

"WHAT ELSE ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME ABOUT ETHAN?! WHAT ELSE COULD BE AS IMPORTANT AS THOSE TWO THINGS?!"

Yep, just another day in this strange world.

The Dragonborn sat down at the table, where Vilkas and Fargengar were sitting as well, and the Dragonborn spoke. "So, what might be this morning's meal?"

Raul came up to him and sat down a plate of pancakes, same for the other two, before he went back to the stove, turned it off, and headed to the living room, with the purple mare yelling after him.

Vilkas then looked at the Dragonborn. "You know, we have been fighting side by side for months now, and I still haven't learned your name."

Fargengar nods in agreement. "I must agree with him, I was stuck with simply calling you Dragonborn back then. I am truly curious myself."

The Dragonborn smiled a little. "It's Johnathin Lion-Heart."

Fargengar and Vilkas nodded in response, and they began to eat calmly. Once Johnathin took a bite, he felt tears rushing down his face as he began to savor the flavor. He then cried out as he clenched his hooves. "By the Nine, this is the most amazing, most wonderful, and most perfect food I have ever tasted! I am in Sovngard!"

Vilkas gave him a raised eyebrow in response, while Fargengar was chuckling lightly.

…

Raul sighed as he walked through the markets of Ponyville, after being told by Miss Sparkle to get them food for the next few days. He was truly beginning to question her sanity as he walked, and was feeling a bit cautious about her now.

Just then he spotted Alduin land next to him, and begin following him through the market as he spoke. "Greetings, Ghoul. What brings you to the markets today?"

Raul glanced up at him. "Miss Sparkle asked me to collect some food for her."

The dragon grew a large grin. "It that all you two spoke about?"

Raul groaned in response. "That mare yelled loud enough to be heard all across this town. I'm not surprised you heard her."

Alduin chuckled in response as the two came up to one of the market stands, and Raul began to purchase the stuff on that purple menace's list.

…

I smiled a bit as I and Fawkes looked at the massive mansion that stood in front of us. This was the perfect place to make as a base of operations. Now all I needed was to hire a few carpenters, some guards, gardeners, scientists, and a lot of other ponies. But first things first, I needed to check it out and see what I could improve.

I trotted over to the front door with Fawkes in toe, and we pushed the doors open, heading straight inside. I smiled a bit at it's massive entrance, and examined the stairs on either side of the room, as well as a room ahead, to the sides, and on the upper levels, most of them being hallways most likely.

I trotted over to the table in the center of the room, which held a dead plant in a vase, and gave it an annoyed look, knocked it over, and placed my Abraham Lincoln Action Figure on it. Since I was in ponyland, it was a pony as well. Damn this world sucks.

I glanced over at Fawkes, who was examining the place, and spoke. "So, what do you think? Would this work out?"

Fawkes nodded in response. "Indeed, my friend, I seems to be in perfect condition. Now all we need is to decorate it, and collect enough furniture to make the place livable."

I nodded a bit as I trotted over to a painting of Celestia. "Yeah, and it needs better paintings, something I am used to. Maybe a few paintings of the Brotherhood of Steel, or maybe the NCR, that'll make this more homelike."

Fawkes nodded as well, and continued to trot around. I was busy taking down the paintings, and tossing them into the center of the room, in the unwanted pile.

…

Twilight sighed as she walked towards the Carousel Boutique with Spike on her back, and tried her best not to lose it again. Spike was a bit worried when he saw her, and she didn't want to do that again.

Just then Spike spoke. "So… who were those ponies back at the library?"

Twilight went wide eyed. "I'm sorry Spike, I didn't introduce you to them yet." She sighed a little. "I'll introduce you to them when we get the chance."

Spike nodded a little, and looked ahead, before going wide eyed and spoke with a large smile. "Since when did a giant dragon live here?"

Twilight looked ahead, and saw that one dragon with Raul, which made her sigh slightly, and smile at Spike. "I don't know, I don't know many of their names yet. How about we go and greet them?"

Spike nodded vigerously as they went up to Raul, who looked at them, and quickly lifted his new saddlebags in front of his face while speaking. "Back, demon donkey! I am not interested in any more yelling!"

Twilight stopped in her tracks, shocked by his sudden outburst, then looked at Spike, who was snickering. Twilight sighed and looked at Raul. "I'm sorry Raul, I didn't mean to. I just was shocked by what you said, and was worried about Ethan's health."

Raul slowly moved his saddlebags, and examined her before slowly nodding, and sat the saddlebags back on his back. He then looked at the dragon, who was chuckling a bit.

Raul nodded again, and headed off to buy the rest of the food, while the Dragon gave a small bow of his head. "Greetings, friend of Dovahkiin, I am Alduin, former world eater, and the ruler of the dragons back home."

Spike's jaw hit the ground at this, while Twilight was shocked to say the least. Twilight just stared at the massive beast that, apparently, was the deadliest dragon alive, but appeared to be friendly… so far.

Alduin then spoke again. "I see you have a fellow dov with you, tell me young one, what brought you and this mare together?"

Spike puffed up his chest in response. "I'm Spike, and Twilight here helped raise me when I hatched from my egg. She is my best friend."

Alduin let out a long chuckle. "Did she now, hehe, reminds me of my time with Akatosh." The two raised eyebrows. "Being the first of the Dragons, first born and the such, I was a bit dark, evil, and cruel. But thanks to Dovahkiin, I have seen my mistakes, and plan to do better then I did back then."

Twilight grew a small smile, glad that this dragon has changed, much to her relief as well. Twilight then looked towards the Carousel Boutique, then to Alduin. "Would you like to come with us to Rarity's? I'm sure she'd like to meet you."

Alduin thought for a moment. "Hmm, I do not see how that could affect me in any way… perhaps, so long as she doesn't intend on insulting me."

Twilight smiled a bit. "I'm sure she wouldn't, she's a good friend of mine."

…

Johnathin, Vilkas, and Fargengar continued to walk through the streets of Ponyville, examining everywhere and the such. Johnathin was currently looking at a map he was given by somepony named Lyra Heartstrings. It was helping out quite a bit, so yeah.

Vilkas then spoke as he came up to Johnathin's side. "Is there anyplace worth noting, Harbinger?"

John rolled his eyes at him. "Can't you just say my name, instead of one of my titles?"

Vilkas smirked a bit. "Of course, Johnathin."

"Just go with John, alright?"

Vilkas chuckled again as the three continued through the streets of Ponyville. Soon John stopped in front of a gingerbread house, which was the strangest thing the three has seen all day. They stared at the massive building, until John spoke. "How did they get the wood to seem so much like bread?"

Fargengar shrugged. "One of this world's great mysteries I believe. Shall we go inside and see what they have to sell?"

John nodded as the three entered the building, and looked around at all the seats, the counter up front, and how normal it looked inside. This made them shrug and walk over to the front counter, where a mare was standing at, and smiled upon seeing them. "Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, how may I help you three today?"

John looked down at all the sweets in the counter, and began to look through them. Once he spotted what was a beautiful looking sweet, he stood up and looked at the mare. "How much gold for that there?"

The mare raised an eyebrow. "Gold?"

John nodded and pulled out a gold coin, making her gasp at the beautiful coin, and he sat it on the counter. "Yes, how much of these would it cost?"

The mare slowly picked up the coin, and began to examine it, admiring it's beauty, before she looked at him with a small smile. "One of these would be at least four bits, eight max. And the sweet costs six, so how about we say eight and I give you two bits for it?"

John gave a small smile. "That sounds good."

The mare nodded, and opened the strange machine, which made John raise an eyebrow at such a contraption. The mare put the coin in there, and pulled out two very small gold coins. She then handed it to John, and smiled a bit as she pulled out the sweet, then handed it to him. "There you go, and have a pleasant day."

John smiled at her. "To you as well."

He then trotted over to a seat, with Vilkas and Fargengar in front of him, and John bit into the sweet, making his eyes go wide, and tears start running down his cheeks. This made Vilkas sigh. "Here we go again."

John continued to cry as he took slow bites, and slowly chewed on the most wonderful thing he's ever tasted. This world keeps getting better and better for him, and he doesn't want to lose it.

Just then somepony spoke from next to Fargengar. "Why is he crying?"

Fargengar looked to his side, and let out the most girlish scream upon seeing the pink mare a mere inch from his face as he fell sideways away from her, still scared out of his mind upon seeing her next to him. He also attracted a lot of attention from the other ponies, who looked away upon seeing how close the mare was to him, and appeared to be used to these kinds of things.

The mare looked at the frightened stallion, and offered a hoof to him. "Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie! And I know everypony here, and I don't know you three, what's your names? Do you live here? Are you new?" She then gasped. "I need to get something started!" And with that, she was gone.

Fargengar let out a small whimper as he sat back up, and rubbed his forehead with his hoof. "Not even the way of the voice could track that thing down."

John simply continued to cry as he ate the sweet, completely happy with where he is.

…

I smiled as I walked out of the mansion, a large pile of paintings in a cart behind me, and I began to walk towards Ponyville, with Fawkes next to me as he was examining the forest with a smile. The two of us soon spotted Ponyville, which made me smile and look at Fawkes. "You ready?"

Fawkes nodded. "As ever, my friend."

I nodded in response, and we soon reached Ponyville. I ignored all the curious eyes of the townsfolk, and we soon reached the Town Hall. I then placed the cart at the foot of the stairs, pulled out a wooden sign, and placed it on the cart.

'Paintings For Sale'

I smirked as many ponies came over to examine the paintings, and they were all offering many small gold coins to buy them. I didn't need them, but I accepted them anyways to give to Purple when I headed back. I also smirked at how Fawkes was giving the paintings to each buyer who bought them, and the day was going by like the wind.

Just then I heard something heading towards me, and quickly dove out of the way, making a massive crater grow where I was, and sent dirt flying made me raise an eyebrow, trotted over to the crater, and looked inside, seeing a cyan mare with a rainbow mane, and a pair of wings. This made me raise an eyebrow, hopped into the crater, and poked her, which made her groan in response, and pull herself out of the ground.

She then looked at me, and chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry, was trying to get a lot of speed for my trick."

I rolled my eyes in response. "Yeah, almost fast enough to beat a jet, what else can you ponies do?!"

I continued to rant on to myself while the mare raised an eyebrow, and trotted over to my side, then poked my shoulder. This made me stop and glance at her, which gave her the chance to speak. "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria."

I snorted in response, making her glare at me, while all the ponies quickly scattered. "Yeah, right, I've seen metal move faster then that."

The mare narrowed her eyes at me. "That so?"

"Sure thing, Colors."

Her eye twitched a little. "It's Rainbow, Rainbow Dash."

I clapped my hooves in response, and pulled out a apple. "Does horsy want an apple for that trick?"

She huffed in response, and turned her back to me. "Whatever, I got more important things to do."

I rolled my eyes in response, and dusted myself off. "Yeah, well, next time you end up speaking with me, leave your ego at home. Then I'll consider treating you with respect."

Colors huffed at that, spread out her wings, and flew off with ease.

I simply rolled my eyes, and walked over to the painting thing, and once again went back to selling the things.

…

Twilight took a sip of her tea as she sat with Rarity, and they continued to sit in silence. Alduin was sitting on the roof of the building, enjoying the large tea cettle they gave him, and Spike was gnawing on a ruby.

Just then the front doors bell rung, making Rarity get to her hooves, and headed into the main room, with Twilight behind her. "Hello and welcome to the Carousel Boutique, how may I h- Oh, hello Rainbow, how can I help you?"

Rainbow trotted into the room and huffed slightly. "Anything to get my mind off of that jerk who's selling paintings."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What jerk?"

Rainbow pointed out the door, making them look, and Twilight went wide eyed at seeing Ethan, selling paintings that were of great quality.

"Why is he a jerk?"

Rainbow gave her a disbelieving look. "I introduced myself to the guy, and instead of introducing himself, he said that metal can move faster then me! ME! Then he called me Colors instead of my name!"

Twilight felt her ears lay back down. "Something tells me that I know how you introduced yourself."

Rarity spoke as well. "I am guessing you told him you were the Fastest Flier in all of Equestria?"

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, because I am!"

Twilight thought for a moment. "What did he say when you left?"

Rainbow opened her mouth, until Alduin spoke from above them. "Said to leave her ego at home next time she speaks with him."

They all looked up to see Alduin poking his head in through the large skylight. Rainbow simply huffed and folded her forelegs in response, while Rarity spoke. "Darling, yes he could have spoken with better words, but he appears to sound like he's being very blunt. Meaning he tells the truth, but fails to say it in a way to keep from upsetting others."

Rainbow growled in response, and then sighed. "Alright, fine, so he gots stuff back home that move faster then me, so what, I'm talking about Equestria, not that place he's from."

Twilight giggled in response. "I understand, Rainbow. He is just not used to how we do stuff, and remember what Raul said? He's used to violence and hatred back home, he's not used to our peace and harmony."

Rainbow opened her mouth, then closed it, and nodded when she remembered. "Yeah, you're right, I just… I'm sorry."

Rarity smiled at her. "It's alright, Rainbow, you just didn't remember."

Rainbow slowly nodded in response, then looked out at the sky. "Hey, I gotta go, the weather ain't gonna deal with itself."

Twilight and Rarity nodded in response, and Rainbow flew out the door, straight to the clouds as Twilight sighed. And then looked up at Alduin when he began chuckling. "What's so funny, Alduin?"

He looked down at her. "Creatures of all kinds never cease to amuse me. They go from angered, to happy, to stupid, then to apologetic. It's always quite amusing for something as old as I."

Twilight rolled her eyes in response, and went back to enjoy tea with Rarity.

…

I smiled a bit as I entered the large factory, and spotted who I presumed to be the leader of them. I walked over to him, and gave a nod. "Sup, Big guy." He looked at me. "I'm looking for some carpenters to work on a place I bought, the large mansion in-between Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acres, I'm willing to pay a gold bar to each pony who works on it a day, and if you go past my expectations, I'll pay an extra five gold bars for each of you."

The stallion's jaw dropped to the floor as quickly as he heard the words 'Gold Bars' and his eyes kept going wider and wider with how I was offering to pay and the such. He then quickly shook his head and offered his hoof. "Deal!"

I smiled and shook his hoof, then narrowed my eyes. "Think you can help me hire some guards, gardeners, servants, maids, a band, and a good bit of other stuff? As well as getting me to the best place to buy stuff for my Mansion?"

The stallion gave a very large smile in response. "I'm sure I can help you out with that, and even offer a few options for the place."

I gave a small smile myself.

...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

My eyes slowly blinked open, and once again I found myself in the same bedroom in the same library. This made me sigh heavily. Still in ponyland… when will this nightmare end?

I rolled onto my stomach, and looked around the room again. It was still the same, and the same door in the same damn place. So, with a sigh, I got to my hooves, and trotted over to the door, then went through it, trotted down the hall, and went into the bathroom. I stopped at the mirror, and examined myself. My scar was starting to heal, which was good I guess, though everything else was still the same. So I simply sighed and got into the shower, then turned it on and let out a soft grunt at how nice the hot water feels. But hell if I'd know how much the other ponies could take.

As I stood there and enjoyed the hot water, I took note of the sounds of the morning, meaning everypony was waking up. Great, should have locked the damn door. No point in it now, too wet to get out without drying myself, which would be pointless.

My ears twitched when I heard the door knob twist, then stop and was left alone, meaning she must have finally heard the water. Good.

I made my neck crain back quite a bit to let the water run down my mane and neck, and god did it feel good. I hated it when water was so sparse making it impossible to actually clean yourself. But, hell, those rules don't apply here.

Once I was done with my shower, I got out, dried myself off, and then looked in the mirror, making sure my mane was messy, which it thankfully was, and I trotted out of the room, closing the door behind me. I then headed downstairs, and was greeted to the sound of Raul cooking, wonderful.

I trotted into the kitchen, and heard Purple speak. "Good morning, Ethan."

I gave a small wave. "Mornin' Purple."

Purple rolled her eyes at me. "It's Twilight."

I nodded in response. "I know, but I prefer going by nicknames, makes it easier for me to remember."

Twilight sighed heavily in response. "Alright."

I then looked over at Raul. "What's for breakfast?"

Raul leaned to the side, revealing eggs, hay, and toast. This made me roll my eyes. "At least it ain't sweet stuff."

Twilight raised an eyebrow as I sat in a chair. "What's wrong with sweets?"

I chuckled lightly. "Trust me, when I was young, I loved sweets. But when I got out to the wasteland, I was stuck with meat, 200 year old food, and mostly radiated water. It wasn't paradise, but it kept me alive."

Twilight went wide eyed. "You ate meat?"

I gave her a stern gaze. "What would you have done? Starved to death, or hunted down the nearest and dumbest animal alive to keep from dying?"

Twilight stayed silent in response, and I already knew the answer.

Raul placed the plate of food in front of me, while the others had plates themselves, and I took a bite of the egg. Damn, no where near as good as Deathclaw Eggs, but at least they fill a little bit. I sighed a little and continued to eat, then bit into the hay, and was impressed at how it tasted given what it was.

Just then Fawkes walked into the room, and smiled at me. "My friend, I have some good news." I leaned back in my seat. "One of the Construction Ponies dropped off this paper, explaining that construction on the Mansion is going smoothly, and they hired a good amount of what you've asked for. Also, a pony will be leading you to the train so we can head to a place called Canterlot, and from there we will buy what is needed to funish, and expand the mansion."

I nodded in response, took a sip of the water Raul got me, and got to my hooves. "Great, then let's get ready shall we?"

Fawkes nodded, and we headed for our rooms. Once I was in mine, I trotted over to the mirror, and began to put on President Kimballs suit (since he gave it to me as a thank you for saving his life), and I gotta say, for a pony, it looked pretty damn good on me.

While I was finishing with the tie, I heard Twilight enter the room, and was silent for a bit, before she spoke. "Wow… that really suits you."

I gave a smile to the mirror, which made it so she could see. "Thanks, it was a gift from somepony who ruled over part of home."

Twilight smiled and trotted over to my side, and examined herself in the mirror, then sighed. "I don't think I'd get anything as fitting for myself."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Relax, Purple. You said something about a… 'Rarity' being able to make all kinds of dresses and suits, so I'm sure she could make you something good. And if not, I got a dress I found while scavenging an old world Casino, in excellent condition mind you."

Twilight smiled a little. "You think so?"

I nodded with a small smile of my own. "Sure, why not? Given what I've been told, it could happen. The world throws all kinds of things at ponies, you just gotta know when to catch the right one."

Twilight slowly nodded in response, then sighed as she trotted over to the door. "Good luck in Canterlot, most of the ponies there are a bit snobbish."

I nodded in response. "I've dealt with worse."

Twilight chuckled a little. "I'm sure you have."

She then left the room, leaving me to straighten my tie a little more, and nod at it being well fit. I then trotted out of the room, and headed downstairs, where I spotted the pony who was once in black armor, now in a purple and red suit. His was more medieval, but still fitted as a suit.

I trotted over to him and gave him a nudge, making him look at me while I spoke. "So, you coming with me and Fawkes to Canterlot?"

He nodded. "Indeed, I heard that we will be having a Mansion to stay in soon, and I wish to help in getting it put together as quickly as possible. This place is a bit crowded since it's small."

I gave out a chuckle. "Yeah, got that right." I then looked at Fawkes. "You ready, big guy?"

Fawkes nodded in response. "Yes, friend, I am ready and waiting."

I nodded too, then looked around before setting off, the others close behind.

…

Twilight sighed softly as she watched Ethan from the window, and watched as he went to a construction pony, and headed off to the train for Canterlot. She couldn't help but be sad he was leaving, and getting closer to no longer living with her in the library. She was truly growing feelings for him, even though he doesn't appear to even notice. She wished she could tell him, and to be with him, but she's afraid of him rejecting her. That's always been a possibility, and that's been hurting her quite a bit too.

Just then she heard somepony knock at her door, making her head over, and opened it, finding Pinkie Pie. "Hello, Pinkie."

Pinkie quickly waved her hoof at Twilight. "Hiya, Twilight! Are any of those stallions home?" Twilight shook her head. "Great! That gives me the chance to make their super special and extra awesome surprise Welcome To Ponyville party!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow as Pinkie quickly entered the library, and began to put up decorations and balloons and the such, which made Twilight question how she even did get them, but shrugged in response, and began to help. And was quite surprised to see the other girls coming over to also help.

…

Fargengar trotted through Ponyville's market place, until he spotted SugarCube Corner, gulped a bit, and trotted over to it. He then went inside, and went over to the counter, making the mare from yesterday look up, and smile at him. "Hello there, you were with that one pony, yes?"

Fargengar nodded hesitantly. "Y-Yes… um…" He quickly looked around. "Is that… uh… pink… thing, here?"

The mare tilted her head. "You mean Pinkie Pie?"

Fargengar screamed in girly terror and cried out. "WHERE?!"

The mare quickly raised her hooves and tried to calm him down. "Please, sir, calm down, she's not here." Fargengar began to take deep breaths. "I see that yesterday's encounter left a mark on you." He shuddered a little as he nodded. "I see, well, she won't be coming here anytime soon today, she's busy with something." She then looked him over. "Would you like to by a cupcake? Or maybe some pies?"

He looked at her. "Do you have any sweetrolls?"

The mare smiled. "Indeed we do, good sir, they were the oldest treats we've ever had. I would be happy to sell you one, that would be a single bit, each."

Fargengar slowly nodded, and pulled out a gold coin, which made the mare smirk a bit, guessing he came from wherever the one stallion came from. "Um… I'll take as many as this will get me."

The mare smiled. "Alright, eight sweetrolls for you." She then got the sweetrolls, sat them down, and gave a small smile as she offered her hoof. "Call me Mrs. Cake."

Fargengar slowly nodded, and shook her hoof. "Fargengar, follower of the way of the voice, or the Dragon Tongue… back home."

Mrs. Cake smiled at this. "A pleasure to meet you, Fargengar. And you must tell me about this 'Dragon Tongue' you're speaking about."

Fargengar nodded. "A-Alright…" He looked around. "Um… I'm going to go sit over there, and try to calm down."

Mrs. Cake nodded. "Of course, take all the time you need."

He nodded once again, and went to sit down.

…

Raul sighed as he walked through Ponyville, and stayed silent most of the time while his old bones were beginning to protest to moving. He was tired.

Just then he heard what sounded like a bell ringing, making him look towards it, and saw what looked like an old fashioned school house. This made him smile a bit, and trot on over to it. Once he was there, he spotted a young mare who was addressing a large group of foals, before she spotted him, and remembered what Celestia said before offering a smile. Thinking he was rude or something. "Hello, sir, what brings you here?"

The little foals looked at Raul, and they all went wide eyed in awe. This made Raul chuckle slightly as he looked at the mare. "I heard the bell for this place, and was curious if I could join in on teaching a little? That is if it's no trouble?"

The mare gulped a little, and gave a small smile as she waved him in. "O-Of course, please, come in."

Raul trotted in, and stopped next to her, before she looked at the foals and spoke. "Everypony, this is…"

Raul answered for her. "Raul Alfonso Tejada, resident ghoul of Ponyville, and have been alive for 200 years now."

The foals went onto even more awe and stared at him, mixture of curiosity and wonder. Raul then smiled at the mare. "I have quite a few stories from back home, and I know quite a bit about teaching too."

The mare smiled a little. "I see, please, share with us."

Raul smiled at this, and looked at the foals. "Should I go with my home's history, or stuff we know about?"

A orange filly with a purple mane shot her hoof up. "Ooh, ooh! I wanna know about that history!"

Raul smiled a bit.

"Si, senorita. Let's see…" Raul hummed a little. "The farthest I remember is back in 2052, something known as the resource wars."

The mare went wide eyed. "Your kind went through wars?"

Raul let out a sad sigh. "Sadly yes, and I understand if you wish me to stay silent about it."

She thought a bit, then smiled. "How about you save stuff like that for my later classes, for the adults."

Raul nods. "Si, I agree." He then looked at the fillies. "Let's see, how about the stories from an old comic book known as Grognak the Barbarian?"

The fillies and colts began to nod and yell their agreement, making Raul look at the mare. "Should I continue?"

The mare grew a small smile. "Go right ahead, Raul."

He nodded in response, and looked at the fillies and colts.

…

I sighed as I got out of the train with John (as he told me on the train), Vilkas, and Fawkes, with the pony guide in front of us. We began following him through the market, and enjoyed the nice look of the city. Though I steered clear of the snobbish looking ones, and tended to fall deep into my own thoughts.

As we trotted, I accidentally bumped into somepony who was in front of me, and muttered out an apology. But instead of moving on, the white pony with a blonde mane simply huffed. "My, what a dirty looking poor pony you are?"

I looked up at him, and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

He gave a small scowl. "Oh look, he can talk."

I let out a small snort. "Well, well, looks like I ran into some overgrown donkey, mind explaining why you're ugly ass in out in public, mister ego?"

The stallion glared at me, while two goons came up to his sides. "I'll have you know I am the prince of Equestria."

I tilted my head. "And I should give a fuck… why?"

He snarled at me. "Maybe I should have my friends here teach you a lesson about proper manners."

I chuckled darkly. "I'm not the only one they need to teach manners to."

He snarled and nodded to his goons, who began to advance on me. This made my adrenaline go off, and I dodged a buck from one of them, as well as grabbed his hind legs, spung him around, and flung him into a market stall, causing fruit and vegetables to fall onto him.

I then turned to the next one, who charged headlong at me, only for me to jump up, and spin sideways over him, then lash out my hooves, wrapping them around the stallion's head, and dragged him to the ground. I then gave him a knockout punch, and he went out like a light.

I then got up and narrowed my eyes at the overgrown donkey, who growled and charged at me. With ease, I slid my foreleg, and tripped him with ease, then pulled a apple out of my pocket, and rammed it into his mouth, silencing his yelling. And then, I jumped away, and threw a tomato at him, which made it splatter across his face, completely humiliating him.

The donkey got to his hooves, spat out the apple, and cried out. "I'm telling Auntie, and I'll make sure you get thrown in the dungeon!" And with that, he ran for the palace.

I snorted in response, and trotted over to the owner of the stand, before handing him a gold ingot. "Here, that should be enough,. and if not, I'll mail some more to you to pay for the stand."

The stallion was wide eyed, and gave a large smile. "Thank you, sir, you're too kind."

I smiled in response, and waved at him as I began trotting with the guide again. And as I trotted along, I began to hear the entire crowd cheering me on. Huh… first time for everything, I guess.

…

Twilight helped with putting up another decoration, and was about to help with another, until Spike burped out a letter. This made Twilight raise an eyebrow, grabbed the letter, and began reading aloud so that the others could hear it.

"My Faithful Student, I have just been informed of a falling out between my nephew and the bearer of magic." They all gasped. "Given my nephews usual way of talking to ponies, I am guessing it was completely his fault, and to my surprise, the entire city has taken the Element's side. I would have expected them to take royalty over anypony, but it appears the Element of Magic has a way of getting others to like him, even though he hasn't done anything… aside for paying to repair a market stand. I must say, from what I've been told of him, he appears more likeable then explained. I wish to see you and your friends the day after tomorrow, as well as the Bearers of Harmony so that I may speak with you all. Princess Celestia."

Rarity gasped loudly. "We're going to Canterlot?! Oh Darling, this is a dream come true for me!"  
Twilight sighed a little in response, wishing Ethan hadn't had caused a scene… though if it was who she was thinking, then it is truly no surprise. But for now, she had the rest of the party to deal with.

…Later That Night…

I yawned a little as I got off of the train with Fawkes, John, and Vilkas, and headed on down to the empty town, given it being night time. I then spotted Raul, Fargengar, Ulysses, Joshua Graham, and Alduin at the train station. This made me raise an eyebrow, and trotted over to them. "Hey guys, what's going on?"

Raul shrugged. "Beats me, Twilight told me to get these four and wait for you at the train station, then we'd all head to the Library."

I raised an eyebrow in response, but shrugged and nodded as we began trotting down towards the library. Fargengar then spoke. "The town is quite silent at night, almost abandoned."

I nodded as well, my wings were moving a bit, though I have yet to learn how to use them. "Yeah. Keep your eyes open, just in case."

The others nodded in response, and we soon came up to the library, I then pressed up next to the door, while Raul did the same for the other side, and we both took out our guns. Ulysses pulled out his staff, Joshua Graham pulled out his 45., and the others pulled out their swords.

I nodded to Raul, and silently mouth 3 -1, and then with that, I got in front of the door, and bucked it off it's hinges, before we all came in, weapons ready, only for the lights to go on, and reveal every single pony from town inside.

All I heard after that was them all yelling "SURPRISE!"

I stood there, silent, while my eye twitched a little, and Fargengar fared worse, for he screamed like a little girl, again, and fainted.

Just then a pink pony hopped over to me, and spoke with a large smile, and with one breath. "Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie! I saw you all and just knew you were all new, so I just had to throw a Welcome To Ponyville party! So? Were you surprised? Were ya, were ya, were ya?"

My response, as usual, was letting out a loud yelp, and went out like a light.

…

Raul sighed heavily as Ethan fell to the ground. "Yep, that happened again."

The pink mare stared at the unconscious stallion, her eyes beginning to water as she sniffled a bit. Just then Twilight quickly ran up to her, and wrapped her in a hug. "Hey, hey, hey, it's okay Pinkie. Remember what Celestia said last time she was here? He's not used to this kind of stuff, but will come around eventually. I'm sure he loves the party, but like I said, it's all sudden."

The pink mare nodded sadly, then looked at Fargengar. "What about him?"

John picked up Fargengar, and plopped him on his back. "Don't worry, Miss Pinkie, he is just a little… startled, after last time he met you. You did appear a mere inch from him, so it's no surprise."

Twilight and everypony else made a 'o' with their mouths, while Pinkie slowly nodded, and looked at the rest. "Were all of you surprised?" They all nodded in agreement, making her smile again. "Thank you."

…

Twilight sighed as she followed Fawkes up to Ethan's room, and looked at him. "I expected him to be done with that."

Fawkes chuckled lightly. "You can never change a pony from who they truly are, Miss Sparkle, and he will eventually get used to this. So do not worry."

Twilight slowly nodded as Fawkes placed Ethan in his bed, and then trotted over to the door. "Coming, Miss Sparkle?"

Twilight nodded a little. "I'll come down in a little bit."

Fawkes nodded in response and left the room, leaving Twilight and Ethan alone. Twilight just looked at Ethan, worried about him, and hopes that he'll get used to all of this. She really liked him, and really hopes he'll stay in Equestria with her.

With a sigh, she got to her hooves, gave Ethan one last look of worry, and left the room.

…

Raul couldn't help but want to kill his luck. He was blindfolded, missed the pony when he held the tail, failed at getting a single apple from the dunking game, and to top it all off, that Pink menace rammed something down his throat! So yeah, he wasn't having such a good night.

He sighed heavily as he trotted over to the food table, and poured himself a glass of punch, sniffed it, and took a sip. So far it was good, but he was waiting for that possibility that pink thing tried to prank him. He saw her put that Hot Sauce next to the bowl, and knew better then to touch it.

Just then he spotted Ulysses come over, and gave a small nod. "Ulysses."

The pony simply nodded back. "Raul."

They both stood there at the table and watched everypony dancing and partying, which made Ulysses speak again. "This world bears so much resemblance to the Old World."

Raul shrugged. "I guess, it sure as hell isn't bad, that's for sure. A lot more peaceful I should say."

Ulysses slowly nodded. "Maybe, but greed tends to change one's outlook upon the world."

Raul once again shrugged, and took a sip of his punch. "So, got any stories to talk about?"

Ulysses stayed silent for a moment, his ghost like eyes seemed to be viewing stuff from long ago, before he nodded. "Many, though I have yet to find a good one to mention."

Raul sighed in response. "Alright, but if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me."

Ulysses simply nodded again. "We'll see."

Just then they spotted John trot over, and gave a drunken nod. "Hows it goin…*hic*"

Raul rolled his eyes with a small chuckle. "Drinking contest, I assume?"

John nodded groggily, then collapsed to the ground.

Raul looked into the crowd, and spotted Vilkas chatting with some rainbow maned pegasus mare, didn't think that would happen honestly.

Raul gave a nod to Ulysses, and began trotting towards the two, and easily passed by the ponies before he was in front of them, and spoke. "Hello, amigo! Who might your friend be?"

Vilkas looked at Raul. "Ah, Raul!"

The mare looked at Raul, and went wide eyed at seeing the rotting skin, which made her gag a bit, and quickly look away. Vilkas waved her off in response. "Stupid wench." He then looked at Raul as he got to his hooves. "My friend, how is the party treating you?"

Vilkas and Raul began trotting away from the mare as he responded. "Aside from that pink pendeho, it's going good. Though I think I need someplace to sit down. These old bones need their rest."

Vilkas chuckled lightly as he helped Raul get through the crowd and into the guest room. "Yes, I am quite tired of the party as well, good thing Miss Sparkle gave us places to sleep until that Mansion is ours."

Raul shrugged. "I guess."

Once Raul sat down in one of the chairs, Vilkas patted him on the back, and began walking towards the door. "I need to check in on Fargengar before I head to bed, go ahead and rest, you seem to have been walking a long road."

Raul simply nodded. "You have no idea." And with that, he got into his bed, laid down, and went to sleep.

…

Joshua Gram sat in the secluded area of the library, and continued to prayer into his hooves, however he failed to notice the young pegasus mare sit on the other side, and was a bit silent, as she tried to whisper a question. He didn't respond, making her gulp a little and get closer. "Um… excuse me?" He still didn't respond because of how soft she said it. She took a deep breath, breathed out, and spoke loud enough for him to hear. "Excuse me?"

Joshua stopped his praying, and lowered his hooves as he looked at the young mare. "Ah, yes? Can I help you, ma'am?"

The mare slowly nodded. "Um… what are you doing over here?"

Joshua gave a small smile behind his bandages. "I was praying to my Lord, for I always do upon nighttime. He answers my prayers by letting me awaken then next day, alive and ready to continue my life."

The mare was silent for a bit, then slowly nodded. She then looked at him. "Why do you wear those bandages? That is if you don't mind me asking."

Joshua smiled again, then grew a sad frown. "I have been baphtized twice, once in water, once in flame." The mare gasped. "It was my punishment for serving a slaver known as Caesar, for all those who fail him are treated with the same, or worse. It has shown me the ill of my ways, and I have from there on, dedicated my life to my Lord, and help all those in… Equestria, with their needs."

The mare was on the verge of tears, as she sniffled a bit. "I am so sorry…"

"It is alright, for I would not be here if it did not have happened, and I would not have met such wonderful ponies."

She smiled softly in response, and gently offered her hoof. "My name is Fluttershy."

Joshua took her hoof, and shook it. "Joshua Graham, right hoof of the Lord."

Fluttershy smiled in response, sat down next to him, and spoke. "Do you want to tell me more about your life? Before then?"

Joshua smiled weakly. "I fear of upsetting you and making you afraid of me if I do."

She smiled softly. "I promise, I won't. I mean, you're different now, and have been trying so hard to make up for it, right? So I am willing to take it."

Joshua smiled again. "My life began in a place called Utah…"

…

Ulysses stood there, enjoying the soft drink of punch, and watched many of the ponies moving about, and a lot of them were unconscious from the alcohol.

Just then he heard a mare speak from next to him. "Hooey, Pinkie sure knows how to throw a party, don't she?"

Ulysses simply glanced towards the mare, who had a tan coat, and her mane and tail were in a ponytail. She had freckles, and wore a stetson, while having three apples on her flank. Ulysses simply looked at the crowds. "Maybe."

The mare raised an eyebrow at him. "Not your kind of party?"

Ulysses shook his head. "Parties are festives of the old world, had no meaning, no point then, still don't now."

The mare shrugged in response and sat down next to him. "Ah guess not all ponies are alike."

"No pony is alike, no matter how much they wish it to be. There will always be something that makes them opposites."

The mare thought for a minute there. "Ah guess y'all got a point there." She then offered him her hoof. "Ah'm Applejack, owner of Sweet Apple Acres, and the maker of the best apples in all of Equestria."

Ulysses just continued to look into the crowd with his ghostly eyes. "Ulysses."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "That's a weird name."

"Not my given name." Applejack's ears twitched. "Was taken from history, a stallion who brought two nations under one flag."

Applejack rose her eyebrow again, then shrugged as she took a sip of her punch. "You're a mighty strange one."

"And your home is strange to me."

Applejack letted out a chuckle. "Y'all got me there." She looked at some more of the ponies. "Have y'all ever danced before?"

"Never had the chance to try, too busy trying to survive in the wastelands of America."

Applejack smirked in response. "Well then let's see if y'all are good at it."

Before Ulysses could even respond, Applejack grabbed his hoof, and dragged him off into the crowd, before dancing, which made Ulysses raise an eyebrow, and slowly tapped his hoof in awkwardness.

This made Applejack laugh. "Come on now, get in the groove!"

Again, without warning, Applejack grabbed his hooves, and began to lead him through some kind of dance. All the while Ulysses held the same look of confusion and awkwardness.

…

Alduin sat there, on top of the Library, and ignored the music as he enjoyed the soft silence of the night, and gazed into the sky, watching as it's beauty beat all others he's known of.

Just then he heard the upper level door open, and looked down to see Spike waddling out to the balcony, a lamp shade over his head, and he was struggling to stay standing.

Alduin raised an eyebrow. "What brings you out tonight, young dovah?"

Spike lifted the shade off his head. "What the heck does that even mean?"

Alduin shook his head in amusement. "It is what we… 'dragons' call out kin back home. It means Dragon,l or course."

Spike slowly nodded in response. "Oookay…" He then thought a bit. "So… all dragons speak like that where you live?"

"Indeed."

Spike placed a claw on his chin. "Could you say something cool, then translate it?"

"Of course, young dovah."

Alduin cleared his throat, and thought for a minute.

"DOVah BahLOK ahRK DRaaL Fah FIN FayN."

Spike was hopping in excitement. "Cool! What does that mean?"

"Dragon hunger and pray for the bane."

Spike tilted his head at that. "So… what does bane mean?"

"Bane is another word for curse, darkness, hatred, sickness."

Spike gulped a bit. "Then…"

"Back then, I was that bane, and the ponies there were at war because I was bringing my kin back to life, to reawaken that long lost war. However, DOVahKiiN, or Dragonborn, has shown me the error of my ways, and so I have removed the title 'World Eater' from my name."

Spike was wide eyed and slack-jawed now as he tried to speak, but failed miserably. "Um… okay… well, I'm going to go back to the party now. We'll talk later, because I really wanna learn more of that 'Dovah' language stuff." And with that, he went inside.

Alduin let out a small chuckle in response, and returned to gazing at the stars.

I see you, young Princess of the night, watching us from your kingdom of stars. You have no need to keep your eyes upon me, for I have long since been a hero of my kind, and brought both the dragons, and ponies into one alliance.

He then heard her voice in return.

"I see, and for that I am grateful, but it is my duty to watch over all, so please do not take this as a threat, for I merely wish to make sure all are happy."

I understand, Princess of the night.

...Next Morning…

My eyes slowly blink open to the sound of somepony snoring from one of the guest rooms. This made me groan, got to my hooves, and then looked at them. Why do I even expect to wake up back in my old body? Hasn't happened yet, and I highly doubt it'll happen anytime soon.

I let out a small sigh, and trotted out of my room, into the bathroom, and looked into the mirror. Still the same… though the scar is a bit smaller now. I shrugged, hopped in the shower, and turned on the steaming hot water, which always made me feel better.

As I rinsed away the dirt of yesterday, I spotted some blood coming off as well, must be one of my scars opening up. I'l fix that in a little bit.

Once I finished washing up, I grabbed the towel and dried myself off, then grunted at myself when I spotted a lot of blood on it now. Damn, gotta think before you act dumbass.

Once I tossed the towel into the hamper, I pulled out a sewing kit, my combat knife, and a couple of stimpaks, before I began with getting that damn thread into the flesh, and began to sew.

Just then I heard the door open, and heard Twilight whistling, before she screamed, and rushed up to me rather quickly. "Oh my goodness! Ethan, are you alright?!"

I waved her off at that. "I'm fine, just an old scar opening up. Nothing bad…" I sighed a little. "Though I accidentially got some on your towel."

Twilight sighed a bit. "Alright, and it's fine, needed to be washed anyways." She then looked down and was impressed. "I didn't know you were good at medical treatment."

I rolled my eyes. "Just a few tricks I learned from Dad, and decided to fully learn about it, so I visited every doctor I knew, and now they call me the American Surgeon because of how well I can save a pony."

Twilight whistled a little, then grabbed some toilet paper to dab on the blood leaving my body, which made me wince a little. "Sorry." I waved it off as she continued to keep the blood from getting anywhere.

Once I finished stitching it up, I grabbed the knife, and cut the rest of the thread since I may need it. I then grabbed a stimpak, and jabbed it into my side, before the stuff sinked in, and the wound sealed up partially. Though the thread still needs to stay there for a while.

I let out a sigh and leaned back, then looked at her. "So, how was your night?"

She shrugged as she sat next to me. "It was alright, some of your friends turned out well I think, and became good friends with my friends."

I chuckled lightly. "Not all of them are my friends." She raised an eyebrow. "I hardly know John, Vilkas, Fargengar, and that Alduin thing. Only for three days honestly."

Twilight shrugged again. "Well, they could still turn out to be good friends."

"Maybe… but then again, it's hard to be friends."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Back home, my friends died by the hostilities of the wasteland, or from radiation poisoning. Sure, I made more friends, but only got to keep around 19 of them."

Twilight's ears went down at that. "I'm sorry, Ethan."

"It's fine, I already mourned them. But now I'm here, in a crazy world, full of insane ponies, covered in sweets, and even creatures that were considered fairytale. This place is like a reserved spot in hell for me."

Twilight felt her heart begin to hurt. "Do you… really mean that?"

I revealed a small smile. "It's not all bad, I mean, there's you, there's my friends, that crazy mare with the rainbow mane. Heh, it's not all bad."

Twilight grew a small smile this time, glad he said that.

I then checked my hoof, where my Pipboy is.. "Huh, I guess Raul should be done cooking now." I looked at her." Wanna go get some breakfast?" I then sniffed the air. "After you take a shower of course."

She blushed madly at that, and nodded as I left the room, and headed downstairs. I then plopped into a chair, and spotted an old style TV. "Huh, wonder what these ponies got on." I grabbed the remote that laid next to me, and switched it on, revealing pony style holotapes, which made me chuckle at how alike our worlds were.

I yawn slightly as it soon went to the news.

"An now Night Star with the news."

"Thank you, Halo. Today is a wonderful day in Equestria, and Princess Celestia has just announced that the Grand Galloping Gala will be starting at the end of next month. There are also reports coming in from Canterlot, somepony finally gained the guts to show that cursed Blueblood a thing or two about manners… even though he learned nothing from it, we learned that he can very well be beaten up. But it requires a certain pony to do that, and thankfully, when Celestia returned, she gave the news of nine new ponies entering Equestria, so my guess is that it was one of them. If anypony has seen this stallion, tell him thanks for standing up to that bucker."

I smirked as it showed my picture on the screen, and let out a small chuckle when it showed the picture of Blue-Shit, covered in the tomato and still had some apple bits covering his face. Classic.

I then gave out a long yawn, and stretched a bit, before I looked over and spotted Raul finishing the plates of food. He then sat my plate down, making me look at it, and smile at it being the same as yesterday.

As I began to calmly eat my food, I heard John speak while entering the kitchen. "Good morning, Ethan, how are you?"

I gave a snort. "Great, after watching the news I couldn't be any happier."

John raised an eyebrow in response, while Raul spoke. "Boss kicked some royal pain's ass, and got a ton of love for it."

John covered his mouth as a small hint of laughter left them, but thankfully stopped it. I then looked back, and spotted Twilight coming down the stairs, drying herself off with a new towel, as she sat down at the table, and smiled at us both. "Good morning you two."

I gave a nonchantly wave as I took another bite of my eggs, while John gave a proper bow of the head. Just then I spotted Ulysses come down the stairs, and sat down while speaking. "I will not go through another one of those… old world parties, again."

Twilight tilted her head. "Why?"

"A mare known as Applejack forced me to dance, and I was quite annoyed at this. I would rather go through the Great War then meet that mare again."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "But she told me you two had a great time."

"In her eyes, maybe, but I have never danced, and will never do as the old world, for I wish to change history, not repeat it."

Twilight sighed heavily at this. "Alright, I'll tell her you're upset about it, but please don't hate her for it, she was just trying to help you be happy."

Ulysses stayed silent as we heard a groan from the living room. I leaned back and spotted Joshua in a corner, fast asleep in a sitting position, while some yellow pegasus mare was leaning against him, fast asleep as well.

I then heard him speak to her. "It's probably best if we don't tell anypony."

I let out a loud snicker so they'd know we were looking at them. "We already know, Joshua."

This made him sigh heavily, while the mare quickly got up, a massive blush covering her face as she began to stutter a bit, then quickly spoke about a bunny before she left.

Joshua sat down next to me, and accepted his plate from Raul, all the while I spoke. "So… how was your morning sleeping with a mare, Joshua?"

Joshua glared at me. "You speak of this to anypony but the Lord, and I will cover you in pitch, and light you on fire so you know how much pain it is."  
I simply snicker in response, which made him pull back his hoof, while I cried out through much laughter. "Alright already! I get it, no speaky of sleepy."

Joshua grunted at my response, and sat back down as he took a sip of his apple juice. And I could see Twilight was confused and shocked by how me and Joshua were talking. This made me snicker a bit. "Something wrong, Purple?"

Her eyes widened rather quickly as a blush covered her face. "Oh! Uh… nothing, nothing at all! Hehe!" She then quickly covered her face as she drank some of her apple juice. I chuckled lightly in response, and took a bite of my eggs. I then looked at Fawkes as he entered the room. "Hey, Fawkes, wanna go check on that mansion and see how it's going so far?"

Fawkes nodded with a smile. "Of course, my friend, for I wish to be able to actually walk through a house without having to lower my head through the doors."

I nodded at this and chugged my apple juice, hopped to my hooves, and trotted over to the door with Fawkes behind me. "See you all later!"

…

Rainbow sighed as she laid there on a cloud, and stared up at the sky. Then growled a little and slapped herself. Stupid! I had a chance at actually getting a date, a real chance for crying out loud! And then I saw that thing, and acted so immature, which obviously pissed off the guy. Of course he would be good friends with a zombie! Now I don't stand a chance… She then groaned. Unless I go to Rarity for advice. But I'm too cool to ask something like that! Hmm… maybe if I pretend I have a friend who's in my current situation… hmm… yeah, that could work! Rarity here I come.

And with that, she stood up on the cloud, and dove towards Rarity's place.

…

Vilkas trotted through Ponyville with Raul next to him, and they examined the markets a bit for any kind of stuff that'll help them with helping the Construction Ponies. They've been working on the Mansion with them for quite a while, giving in their own ideas for the ponies, and surprisingly the mansion is a good four floors taller, while having a good amount of lower basements. But they'll fill them with stuff later, when Ethan explains how to do it.

Raul sighed as he looked through the massive factory, until he looked at one of the workers. "Do any of you got metal? Like large pieces of metal and wood to build the mansion? It still needs to be a good ten or fifteen floors taller."

The worker's jaw slammed against the ground, staring at them with wide eyes, before speaking. "Such a tall building would beat the Canterlot Palace's height!"

Another spoke as well. "Yeah! And it'd take a good few days, as well as a ton of extra side attachments to the buildings and such just to keep it from tumbling over!"

Vilkas chuckled a little. "If it'll get what we want, we'll pay extra for your great help."

The first one's eyes lit up. "How much extra?"

"About three times more then your usual pay on this project."

Their smiles grew quite wide at this. "It's a deal! But we're going to need to hire a lot more workers to help out, to speed up the process and the such."

Vilkas nodded. "Warning accepted, here's your start of the pay." And with that, he placed six gold ingots on the table, making the workers smile widely, take them, and rush off to get to work.

Raul then looked at Vilkas. "So, the plans we had were from an old friend of ours, his name was unknown, but he said to simply call him Boss, or… Mr President."

Vilkas looked at the blueprints. "It is quite the achievement, but thankfully, not impossible."

Raul nodded as they began to go over the plans.

…

Alduin sighed contently as he looked across Ponyville, and took in the warm air, as well as enjoying the beauty of the land. As he sat there on top of the Library, he spotted the sight of smoke coming from the mountains closeby. This made his curiosity surface, and he spread out his wings, and took to the air. Once he made it to the mountains, he landed in front of the large cave, making the ground shake viciously, while Alduin spotted a large dragon inside.

Alduin's curiosity grew at this, and he called into the cave. "I see there are more then just that young dovah here in Equestria."

The dragon inside opened his eyes, and spotted Alduin. This made the dragon raise an eyebrow, and climb out of his cave, where he laid down, his head being half the size of Alduin. "And who might you be, fellow dragon?"

Alduin stood straighter at this. "It appears your kin and my kin are to be forever separated between worlds. For your kin do not speak, think, or appear the same way my kin do."

The dragon grew a twinkle in his eye. "Ah… the older siblings of the realm known as Nirn, I never thought I'd live long enough to meet one." He then examined Alduin. "You are far different from how the others foretold, mostly in appearance."

Alduin smiled. "That is because I was the first of dovah kind, such as there were differences in the first pony and the ones after."

The dragon chuckled lightly. "Indeed, great one." He then laid his head on his claws. "Are there any old war stories one of great age can share… I apologize, but I do not know your name."

"It is Alduin, former World Eater."

The dragon shivered a little. "Oooh, such a dangerous one at that. You truly do hold great power."

Alduin chuckled a bit. "Indeed." Alduin then looked up at him. "Have you heard of the great war between the Nords and the Dovah?"

The dragon's eyes twinkled again. "I have not, but it sounds intriguing. Do go on."

…

Twilight sighed softly as she laid in the spa with Rarity and Fluttershy, and they were content on the warm steam, and the stress slipping off their bodies.

Rarity then spoke. "Twilight, Darling, have you see Rainbow lately?"

Twilight shook her head, still relaxed. "No, Rarity… Not lately. Oooh… Why?"

Rarity lifted her head, causing some of her mane to fall over her face. "She came by earlier, something about a friend. This friend had a crush on a very handsome stallion, from what she says, however she messed up when she spotted this friend's zombie looking friend, and gagged at the sight. This, in return, caused the stallion to lose interest in her, and walk away. She wanted to know what to tell the mare on what to do."

Twilight easily grew a hint of just who those two stallions were, given that she's seen Vilkas and Raul and has seen Rainbow's reaction to seeing Raul. And even heard Vilkas' response to her. Guess it makes sense, those two did become good friends within the past three days.

Twilight gave out a long yawn. "What did you tell her, Rarity?"

"I told her to apologize to the stallion, and if he doesn't accept it, then he's no good stallion. At least not for her. But you can always learn from a stallion from how the interact with the world."

Twilight moaned at the pressure put into her back. "You have no idea…"

Fluttershy spoke at this. "Mmm… what do you girls think about… Ahh… Joshua?"

The spa ponies stopped massaging them and went off to take a break, while Rarity sat up. "I've met that stallion, he doesn't seem that bad, though he seems to speak a bit about religion. I am not religious myself, but to each his own."

Twilight nodded in response, got to her hooves, trotted over to Rarity, and whispered in her ear. "Fluttershy fell asleep against Joshua while they were talking through the party. They agreed not to tell anypony, and Joshua went so far as to threaten Ethan who had yet to say he wouldn't tell anypony." Rarity's eyes went wide. "Of course, that appeared to be their way of joking around, as he finally gave in and promised. Something tells me Joshua simply won't say to keep Fluttershy from getting hurt. Though I could be wrong."

Rarity nodded in response, and looked at Fluttershy. "What do you think of Joshua, darling?"

Fluttershy blushed madly at that. "He's very nice… and just had a really hard past. Trying to make up for his mistakes back then, and trusted me enough to tell it to."

Rarity gave a 'o' as she wiped her mane out of her face, and glanced at Twilight. "So, Twilight, you have those eight stallion and one large dragon sleeping where you live, any one of them you are curious about?"

Twilight blushed madly in response, and quickly looked around. "Hey, I just realized I got to go and buy some food for my guests! See you girls later!" And with that she zoomed out of the room, leaving behind a thick trail of steam.

Rarity couldn't help but giggle in response. "Now if only I knew which stallion it was…"

…

Ulysses continued to trot through the town of Ponyville, taking in the warm air, and staying silent for the most part. He didn't speak to anypony, and ignored those who called him over. He had a current mission, and that was to travel across Equestria, like he did that Lonesome Road of the Divide.

Ulysses continued to trot forward, and was soon on the edge of Ponyville, looking across the lush, green land of Equestria. This made him breath in, and began to trot onward. But as he made it a good few feet, he heard THAT mare's voice. "Howdy, Ulysses! Where y'all going?"

Ulysses simply turned his head back, and spotted Applejack behind him. "I am leaving, continuing my journey further into this world. And won't return until next year."

Applejack's ears went back. "Yer leavin' because of that lil' thing Ah did at that party?"

Ulysses surpressed the urge to laugh at the stupidity of the thought. "No, my life cannot be left in a single town. I need to explore this land, and learn of it's life, and how it works. The best way to learn of a road, is to walk it."

Applejack stayed silent for a moment, then trotted over to him, narrowed her eyes at him, and spoke in a stern tone. "Y'all better promise me somethin', That y'all come back 'ere once yer done, and visit yer friends."

Ulysses simply continued to look upon the land. "Very well, so long as you send a message to the Courier."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Courier?"

"Ethan." Applejack made an 'o'. "I want you to tell him these exact words."

…

I groaned in annoyance as I finally pushed the last large slab of stone into the wall, where the hole was. Then I dragged myself to a bench, and slumped into it, taking a deep breath and trying to get some rest. Just then I heard Fawkes sit down next to me, and speak. "That should be the last of it." He then leaned back a bit, pressing his head against the stone wall. "This Mansion is truly beginning to look like those Pre-War Skyscrapers back home."

I nodded a little, still resting. "Yeah, but we still got a lot of work ahead of us. If we plan to achieve that one guy's wish, we're going to need a lot more hooves and resources."

Fawkes slowly nods at that. "I agree, my friend. But where would we find such help?"

I thought for a bit, then heard Raul and Vilkas walk in. They both stood in front of us as Vilkas spoke. "Ethan, we have gotten much more helpers and workers to build this building."

My ears twitched a little. "Anymore good news?"

Raul nods. "We have gotten word from Princess Celestia." I snorted, still amused by these ponies' names. "She has seen how much we're willing to pay for this achievement, and sees it as a truly great goal. So she has personally sent her royal architecture ponies to aid in building the tower, as well as many freelancing construction ponies, and many more ponies who are willing to join the tower once it's built."

I couldn't help but let out a long whistle. "Damn, this keeps getting better and better. We'll be living in the lap of luxury in no time." I then looked at Vilkas. "Alright, we got a lot of work ahead of us, and I need every able hoof to help in this. Go around and see how much resources you can get from the factories without causing any problems for other ponies, me and Fawkes will get the others and start putting some much needed hard work into this."

Raul nodded at that, as did Vilkas, before they both left the place. I then glanced at Fawkes. "Think you could do a week or two's work into this place?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because I'll most likely pass out in-between shifts to even put a dent in this project."

Fawkes grew a small smile. "Of course, friend."

…

Twilight continued to trot through Ponyville, whistling softly to herself as she enjoyed the day like everypony else. It was the perfect day, one of many to come.

Just then she spotted Applejack trotting over to her, making her smile. "Hello, Applejack, do you need something?"

She nodded. "Yeah, do y' know where Ethan is?"

Twilight thought for a moment. "Last time I checked, he was heading to that old mansion, to look over the reconstruction of it or something."

Applejack nodded at this. "Thanks, Twi."

And with that, she headed off towards the mansion, leaving a confused Twilight.

…

**CLIFFHANGER!**


End file.
